Statement from the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition

The A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Caolition denounces any intervention by the Bush Administration against the democratically elected government of Haiti and its President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. We oppose the financial embargo of this Caribbean country by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank at the instruction of the U.S. government. We condemn any CIA support for the anti-democratic opposition and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) programs it has in Haiti to funnel money to the opposition.

Today Haiti faces a serious threat to its nascent democracy. Armed gangs led by disbanded military officers, right-wing FRAPH coup makers who overthrew President Aristide in his first term and then conducted a reign of terror, and the death squad Ton Ton Macoutes movement loyal to the old Duvalier regimes, are invading cities, burning police stations, killing and beating Lavalas Movement supporters, and attempting to violently remove the elected government from office.

The whole world (except the CIA and some business interests) took hope when the
Haitian people, through the Lavalas Movement headed by former priest Jean
Bertrand Aristide, came to office with a landslide victory in 1990. The whole world
(except the CIA and some business interests) mourned when a military coup
overthrew Aristide in 1991. Aristide is now serving again as elected president and
the same forces that opposed him before continue their efforts to overthrow him.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. President Aristide's efforts to
respond to the desperate needs of Haiti's poorest citizens has been crippled from the
beginning by U.S. government manipulation of aid and international loans, and by a
complete cut-off of international aid and loans since 2000. In a country as poor as
Haiti, whose riches were looted by its colonial masters, cutting off international
assistance has had a corrosive effect on society, opening the way for a
re-emergence of the violent, right-wing forces of the past. A.N.S.W.E.R. demands
that the U.S. government release all aid money appropriated by Congress for the
Haitian government and to remove its block on international loans and grants.

Despite being crippled by the aid cut-off, Haiti has implemented admirable literacy
campaigns and a Universal Schooling Program, has defended children's rights, and
has worked to find alternatives to corporate globalization. Like Nicaragua of the
1980's and Venezuela today, this makes Haiti "the threat of a good example."

Two hundred years ago the Haitian people established the second oldest republic in
the Americas. For sixty years the U.S. government refused to recognize the Haitian
Republic, which resulted from the only successful slave insurrection in history. From
1849-1913 the U.S. threatened Haiti 26 times by anchoring warships in its harbors to
protect U.S. business interests. The U.S. invaded Haiti in 1915 and occupied it until
1934. U.S. marines robbed $500,000 from the National Bank of Haiti in 1915. These
stolen monies were then deposited in the National City Bank--now part of the trillion
dollar Citibank octopus. The U.S. government supported some of the hemisphere's
bloodiest, most repressive governments including "Papa Doc" and "Baby Doc"
Duvalier in the latter half of the 20th century. The U.S. invaded Haiti again in 1994 to
return Aristide for the remainder of his first term, but dictated that his term could not
be extended to make up for the three years denied him by the coup. U.S. soldiers
remain in Haiti today.

The reason why Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere is that it
made so many other countries so rich. It was Haitian sugar--the product of slave
labor--that fueled the industrial revolution in Britain and France. French bankers and
big business alone owe Haiti at least $21 billion in reparations for a forced loan that
took Haiti 120 years to pay off. Over the past few centuries, the Haitian people have
also been punished for having the audacity to overthrow their slave masters. This
heroic country opened its arms to Simon Bolivar, supplying the liberator with two
ships and supplies needed to overthrow Spanish colonial rule. The only thing that
Haiti asked in return was freedom for all the enslaved people in Latin America.

For all its problems, the majority of Haiti's eight million people will not support a
return to colonial servitude. The aim of the right-wing insurrectionists is to provoke
military intervention against the Haitian government, possibly under disguise of a
United Nations "humanitarian mission." A.N.S.W.E.R. demands that the U.S., France,
and the United Nations keep their hands off Haiti. With the reparations owed Haiti by
France; with international aid directed by sovereign Haiti, Haitians can solve their
own problems and chart their own destiny.

A.N.S.W.E.R. demands: Hands off Haiti! Stop the financial embargo of this heroic
country!

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PAX CHRISTI USA STATEMENT ON HAITI

February 27, 2004

At this moment in the deepening crisis in Haiti, Pax Christi
USA states unequivocally that the situation in Haiti should be
resolved internally by the Haitian people. We call upon
President Bush to publicly promise to make no moves,
militarily or otherwise, that would threaten or undermine the
sovereignty of Haiti. Rather, we call on the Bush
Administration to publicly denounce all armed actors in Haiti
and to specifically call upon the armed opposition to
immediately halt their activities. It is imperative that the
U.S. government make clear that the U.S. will not support any
elements of Haitian society that use armed violence to further
political ends. During this time of crisis, it is imperative
that Haitians resolve their issues and that our government
respects the integrity of their country and constitution. We
call upon all factions within Haiti to disavow violent
solutions and to pursue resolution to this crisis through
nonviolent means with respect for the democratic process and
the Haitian Constitution.

The most important statement that we make at this time is to
assert to our own government that the sovereignty of Haiti is
of paramount importance. Haitians must be allowed to resolve
their own issues without the threat of an intervention by
empire-building opportunists within the Bush Administration.
We are convinced that much of the instability that led to the
current crisis in Haiti is the result of overt U.S. policies
toward that country and covert support for forces employing
violence which exacerbate the already harsh economic misery
and insecurity of the Haitian people. In the wake of the
recent deployment of Marines to protect the U.S. embassy, we
believe it is important to call attention to the long history
of U.S. interference in Haitian affairs. In 1915, the U.S.
government under President Wilson also sent Marines to Haiti
under the direction to protect Americans and American
interests. The Haitian people have not forgotten that this
first deployment of Marines led to a de facto U.S. occupation
and control of their country for nearly twenty years, during
which the resident U.S. naval commander dissolved the Haitian
Congress and attempted to dictate a new constitution. Since
then, the U.S. government has actively undermined democracy in
Haiti, supplying former Haitian dictators, fighters and
paramilitaries with U.S. military training, military aid and
training from the infamous School of the Americas. In light of
this history and current nation-building military campaigns in
Afghanistan and Iraq, we insist that the Bush Administration
immediately cease any attempts at fomenting tension and
division in Haiti through back-channel support of some of the
factions which oppose President Aristide.

Pax Christi USA has a long history of accompanying the Haitian
people during times of conflict and transition, especially
during the post-Duvalier years, through the first election of
President Aristide, the subsequent coup and his return in
1994. It is with great sadness that we witness the violence
which once again engulfs this country which has provided such
hope in recent history for their success in employing
nonviolence to achieve social and political change. We call on
President Aristide, his supporters and the multiple factions
which are in opposition to his rule to disavow violence and to
remember once again the promise of real change which can
happen only through nonviolent methods and campaigns.

We understand that the Haiti of today is not the Haiti of ten
years ago. We recognize that many of President Aristide's
opponents, which include many who formerly supported him, are
not associated with the violence that is currently taking
place in Haiti nor desire the violent overthrow of his
administration. We believe that there are legitimate issues,
especially regarding human rights abuses attributed to the
Fanmi Lavalas party, which must be examined and resolved if
Haiti wishes to emerge from this moment and strengthen its
commitment to democracy. We believe that efforts at bringing
opposing sides to the table hold some promise and believe that
the United Nations, Organization of American States and
CARICOM-not the U.S.-are the proper agents to help the various
factions in Haiti come together and address these issues in a
transparent, constructive manner. We believe that such a
process can happen in a way that respects democratic processes
and the Constitution of Haiti.

Even before the current eruption of violence, the situation in
Haiti was desperate-rampant poverty, unemployment, hunger and
disease. For two centuries prior and throughout the Aristide
years, the U.S. has undercut all attempts to improve
conditions for the people of Haiti, either through deliberate
opposition or through calculated neglect. At this moment, we
skeptically hope that the Bush Administration will not use
Haiti's misery as an opportunity for furthering its own
misguided empire aspirations. It is our great hope that the
Haitian people will be allowed to decide the fate of their own
country, and that all sides realize that it is in the best
interests of all to pursue resolution of this crisis through
nonviolent means.

Haiti Action Alert

As the crisis in Haiti deepens and the violence worsens, Pax
Christi USA is suggesting that members of its grassroots
network call in to House International Relations Committee
members and Senate Foreign Relations Committee members.
Oversight for State Department operations takes place within
these committees. We also recommend sending e-mails to the
State Department's Haiti Desk and the Bureau of Western
Hemispheric Affairs of the State Department.

In your communications, please emphasize the following points:

NO U.S. military intervention in Haiti! The Bush
Administration and leaders in the Senate and House must openly
support the United Nations, CARICOM and the Organization of
American States in helping to arbitrate the current conflict.

The Bush Administration and leaders in the Senate and House
must publicly denounce all armed actors in the Haitian
situation and clearly state that the armed opposition must
cease the use of violence.

The Bush Administration and leaders in the Senate and House
should call on all sides in the Haitian conflict to resolve
the situation using their existing democratic and electoral
process.

For the length of the political crisis, the U.S. should
welcome refugees from Haiti.